Chapter 3 Fuyao (Four Parts) At the end of the summer of the thirteenth year of the great cause, Tang Gong Li Yuan, who had been preparing for more than three months, raised the banner of Qing Jun in Taiyuan and marched southward. In the same month, Xue Ju, a native of Jincheng, established himself as the Qin Emperor.
Li Gui proclaimed himself King of Daliang
At the same time, Jiang Dutong's general Wang Shichong and his troops from Huai Jin left and headed north to rescue Luoyang.
The heroes in Hedong, Longyou, Henan and other places were fighting in a pot of porridge, but the land of Hebei was rarely peaceful. Dou Jiande, Luo Yi, and Li Xu all stopped their activities and devoted themselves to another battle with all their strength.
They split up to harvest summer grain. People depend on food. Without food, no matter how powerful the hero is, he will starve to death!
The damage caused by the war was huge. Although Luo Yi tried his best to maintain restraint when retreating, the banks of the Laihe River, which had just regained a little vitality, were still devastated. Summer was coming to an end, but the wheat in the fields had not yet had time to be cut close to the water source.
In the farmland, weeds grow as lush as wheat stalks. Tens of thousands of birds chew in the fields with their stomachs open. Whenever someone passes by, their wings rising in the air can block the sun.
Some pheasants are too fat and the quails will fall before they can fly very far. This is not only because of the sudden increase in weight, but also because eating sprouted wheat grains, which is slightly toxic, can make people look like stars.
, causing the limbs of cattle and sheep to twitch. For pheasants and quails, which are much smaller than cattle and sheep, it is enough to make them stagger around as if they were drunk.
The farmers who had just rushed home from the chaos turned a blind eye to the "fat" falling around them. They rushed into the fields like crazy, trying their best to snatch food from the mouths of birds and God. However, those wheats were
If they cannot harvest enough of the life-saving food they rely on to survive until the next harvest season, many families that were just established in the spring of this year will be broken up again during the lean season next year.
No one wants to see a famine happen. Even the big families in the city have sent all their strength to join in the harvesting operation. If the people have no food, they will become refugees again. There is only half a step between refugees and bandits.
Yao, if the Boling Army fails to suppress it, the dangers that have occurred in the past few years will befall some large households. That time, many high-walled compounds were burned down, and tens of thousands of acres of fertile land lost their owner Li Xu.
Later, the reason why so much wasteland was found in the six counties to be distributed to the people was because the original owners of the fields had been confiscated by bandits. This time, the surviving wealthy households were not willing to let the tragedy happen to them again.
After leaving a certain number of soldiers and horses to maintain law and order, Li Xu temporarily sent most of his soldiers home to avoid delaying more farming time. In last year's land grant, the soldiers of the Boling Army were allocated a certain number of fields to their names.
After the land has done their best to protect their homeland, they have reason to go back and solve the problems of their wives, children and children.
Amidst the roar of the sickle, the civil servants in the six counties no longer dared to hide in the yamen and enjoy the happiness as in previous years. From the helpers with no rank to the fourth-rank county governor, they all pretended to walk to the field ridge and interact with the people.
Although they couldn't do much work after putting away the grain together, the impact on the people was huge. "This dynasty has an upright official again!" "God's eyes are open!" "With Mr. Li supervising, who dares to idle around!
"The people were talking in astonishment, with excitement on their faces. They remembered that only when the late emperor had just established the Sui Dynasty, officials would be so considerate to the people. At that time, the officers did not dare to ask for bribes, but were willing to go to the fields to punish the officials with the people.
, he will soon be promoted, but that era was too short. Soon the title of the Sui Dynasty changed from Kaihuang to Renshou, and then it became a great undertaking that bankrupted people.
If it had been the previous summer, officials from all over the country would never have lowered their status to associate with the common people even if they were afraid of Li Xu's troubles. But now it is different from previous years. First, the power of the imperial court can no longer affect Boling University north of the Yellow River.
Although Li Xu, the general manager, was not called a loner, he was an out-and-out local emperor. If he made him unhappy, no one would find anyone to support him. Secondly, the scholars selected through the imperial examination last year had gradually mastered the daily routine.
In the mode of government operation, countless pairs of eyes are staring at the few official positions. If the person in office is unwilling to pursue his own affairs, the princes will rush to do it for him.
Last year, the new policy that Li Xu bravely tried out in the world slowly began to show results. The areas that were not harassed by the Youzhou Army had a good harvest. Some of the ripe land that was already harvested in the second year had a gratifying yield, although after paying the land tax, the people could not get it.
There is too much surplus, but the family of five who owns thirty acres of land will definitely not go hungry again in the coming year.
As the flames of war recede, Boling and Hengshan, the two major counties where the battlefield was located, have become increasingly prosperous. The number of trading goods in the market has increased significantly. When the city opens every day, people who come to the market can line up in long queues. Some of them have almost disappeared.
The retired merchants became active again, driving their animals north and south, transporting specialties and surpluses from various counties to the big markets for exchange, and earning hard-earned money to support the whole family.
The increase in business names brought about an increase in taxes. A large amount of copper coins were sent to the treasury, and then transferred to the army, and then spent like water.
Swords, armor, equipment, bows, crossbows, and arrows all need to be borne by the local government. In addition, the cost of caring for injured soldiers and the cost of resettling a new wave of refugees. The amount is staggering. Li Xu takes pictures every time he sees the bill.
I was secretly glad in my chest. Fortunately, I had forcibly promoted the Tianjun Order as soon as I took office last year. Otherwise, even if the Boling Army could withstand Luo Yi's attack this time, it would be dragged down by the huge expenses.
In fact, it is not that there are no other ways to make money. Wang Xuba and Guo Fang mentioned it privately and advised Li Xu to cut off a group of large households in each county. This would not only free up a large amount of fertile land to settle the people, but also harvest enough.
The idea of supplying military supplies with extravagant wealth made Asahi's heart beat. But then he thought about the kings and heroes who had died under his own hands in recent years. He had to reject this tempting idea, which was a method of amassing wealth that relied entirely on plunder.
It is like drinking poison to quench thirst. Although it can enrich the treasury of the six counties in a short period of time, as time goes by, there will be a day when all the wealth in the county will be robbed. When robbery becomes a habit, the brothers will inevitably stretch their knives.
To ordinary people like them
Life without the constraints of the imperial court is not easy. High-ranking officials and dignitaries can no longer dictate matters in the six counties, but Li Xu has to face all challenges alone. The common people can't live a good life, and secretly scold him, the chief executive, for his ancestral officials who are running rampant.
It was illegal, and it was no longer the court that was harmed, but his prestige. While being battered by a large number of civil servants, he did not dare to delay the construction of the army in his hands. If there was not enough force, the relatively wealthy six counties would be heroes in the world.
It's not just Luo Yi and Dou Jiande who are trying to take a bite out of the fat in their eyes. Liu Wuzhou from Mayi will not remember the love he had with Li Xu back then. Even Li Yuan, a nominal ally, is the same when his eyes turn red from hunger.
The fangs behind the kind face are revealed
The current situation is that Tang Gong Li Yuan's troops and horses were blocked between Lingshi and Fenxi by heavy rain. Li Yuanji and Ma Yuangui, who were staying in Taiyuan on the verge of running out of food, scraped three feet of the ground and searched almost every household's food bag.
There is an endless stream of refugees fleeing from Hedong to Hebei. If you are not careful, a new wave of banditry may form.
"In August, we can still harvest some beans and sorghum!" Cui Qian flipped through the documents sent by civil servants from various places and reported to Li Xu one by one. Because he played an important role in resisting the Youzhou Army's southward movement, he returned to decision-making.
Although he is not yet accepted by all his colleagues, everyone has to admit that he is more skillful than everyone else in handling local government affairs.
This is good news. Beans and sorghum are not delicious to eat. It is better than starving the soldiers and people. If there is a slight surplus, Li Xu also hopes to take some coarse grains to the outside of the Great Wall in exchange for war horses for year-round fighting.
Experience told him that although infantry is suitable for guarding city gates, if you want to completely destroy the enemy, light cavalry that can be used to outflank is essential.
As the soldiers of Boling who were scattered and evacuated to various places during the Battle of Henan gradually returned, the work of rebuilding the cavalry was put on the agenda. The situation was more optimistic than Li Xu had estimated in advance. Four thousand brothers who were separated on the south bank of the Yellow River have now returned to their homeland.
Some of the more than a hundred people were forced to stay by the county magistrates from various places to assist in the defense, but they also sent letters back to report to their former bosses and their families that they were safe. For the soldiers who were dispersed and could not return for the time being, Li Xu ordered local officials to deal with them.
The responsibility of their families to treat the defeated people well does not lie with them. At the same time, these brothers may also make up for the lack of connections in the six counties in the future.
"But in the newly controlled areas in the north of Zhuojun, there is almost no harvest this year!" Cui Qian's next message immediately ruined everyone's good mood. "Guo Xianhe, the prefect of Zhuojun, hopes that your Excellency can allocate a batch of crops as soon as possible."
We need summer grain to help in emergencies. In those places, winter comes early and grain arrives late, so someone will definitely starve to death!"
"We can let them work for relief to help the new refugees build houses and earn food for the winter. There is a lot of flat land on both sides of the Sanggan River. The refugees who escaped from the Hedong area can just be resettled nearby!" Military Sima Zhao Ziming couldn't bear to see it.
The coach was worried and whispered suggestions
During the battle with Luo Yi, the six counties of Boling regained the Liyang Mountain, Huairong, and Zhuolu areas previously occupied by the Xue brothers. Because of its proximity to the border fortress, the population in this area has always been sparse, which is ideal for resettling the refugees from the east of the river.
place
"Maybe the faster we build, the easier it will be for others to spy on us!" Cui Qian didn't think that managing a once desolate place was as simple as Zhao Ziming said, "Luo Yi didn't have any good intentions when he returned the place to us. He
After returning to Jixian County, we immediately withdrew the infantry general from the fortress to the front of Liucheng. The distance from Rushui to Juyongguan is nearly a thousand miles. Except for our brothers, no Central Plains troops are stationed!"
